Sabaj D5 - Owners' Thread

[Malis]

I have used mine for over a year now, and no bugs or issues. Works great on a daily basis. I use it as a pream and headphone amp.

 

[zmn668]

Good morning. Hoping you folks can help me with a sanity check. I received my D5 yesterday from Amazon. Very impressed with the sound. Firmware 1.6 came pre-installed. I use a Raspberry Pi 4 via USB as a Roon endpoint and that works great. I use my PC through SPDIF optical as it is mostly for gaming with Roon on the Pi being my primary music source. I have a pair of KRK studio monitors connected via XLR. I have my HE400i's connected via SE although balanced cable is coming today. All works great except... If I switch the input to I2S with nothing connected the display reads "connected" and I get this constant ticking tone that pans left to right and back. It is there whether I have output set to line or SE headphones. I've disconnected all other inputs and it remains. I've done a factory reset and it remains. I don't have an I2S source to connect to determine if it stops with an actual source connected. Can anyone verify similar behavior or have any thoughts? I love the unit but want to return it while still in my return period if this is a malfunction. Thanks!

 

[Malis]

Just dont use it with this input, if nothing is connected to I2S. I think you will never use this input in your life so this does not affect you at all.

 

[zmn668]

Thanks for the response. My concern is that I tend to keep my gear for a couple of years and then sell it when I'm ready to move onto something new. A defect like this will surely hurt the resale value. If this is indeed a defect then I'd rather exchange it while I can. Do you or perhaps anyone else have a D5 with fw 1.6 that could switch to a disconnected I2S input and let me know if you are experiencing anything similar?

 

[Malis]

I have loaned my unit to a friend, I will receive it back this weekend, then I can check how my DAC behaves. But I think someone will give you a response sooner than me.

 

[zmn668]

Thanks so much. Great community where someone brand new can find helpful folks such as yourself.

 

[RickSanchez]

I have the same behavior in my Sabaj D5. If I set the input to I2S (and there is nothing connected to the I2S port in the back):

1. On the display it shows the I2S connection icon and the text says "Connected".
2. On my speakers I get a chirping noise.

However, I do not have an I2S interconnect to test what happens when something is hooked up to that port. Have you tried to contact the Sabaj support team about this?

 

[zmn668]

Thank you for the confirmation. Now that I know that more than just my unit are experiencing this I will reach out for support. I will of course share whatever they tell me.

 

[Harry1973]

I have Sabaj D5 (version 1.4), no chirping noise when I2S chosen. It states "connected", however. Been using it for 1.5 years, as a desk-top dac with optical and coax connected.

 

[zmn668]

I have the same behavior in my Sabaj D5. If I set the input to I2S (and there is nothing connected to the I2S port in the back):

1. On the display it shows the I2S connection icon and the text says "Connected".
2. On my speakers I get a chirping noise.

However, I do not have an I2S interconnect to test what happens when something is hooked up to that port. Have you tried to contact the Sabaj support team about this?

Could you please tell me if your D5 has fw 1.6 installed? Thanks!

 

[RickSanchez]

Correct, I’m on firmware version 1.6 for my D5.

 

[Malis]

I have the same behavior in my Sabaj D5. If I set the input to I2S (and there is nothing connected to the I2S port in the back):

1. On the display it shows the I2S connection icon and the text says "Connected".
2. On my speakers I get a chirping noise.

However, I do not have an I2S interconnect to test what happens when something is hooked up to that port. Have you tried to contact the Sabaj support team about this?

I have the same situation with my unit. When I switch to other input, the DAC works just fine. I have never used, and think that I never will use this I2S input. So, no worries. Also, I am on V1.6 as well.

 

[zmn668]

Good morning. Below is the response I received from Sabaj. Not sure if this is their default response but very torn on what to do.

Hello Bill,
We are so sorry for your problem. In this case, you need to request for a return, you need to return the D5 and repair it. If you still have any question, you can contact us again. Thank you for purchasing our product.
Best regards,
Hifi-Booster Shop

 

[RickSanchez]

Is that response from Sabaj or from the Amazon seller?

So if you are truly in the "I tend to keep my gear for a couple of years and then sell it when I'm ready to move onto something new" then I think you already have your answer: return it or exchange it. It seems that an important piece of owning this device for you is resale value.

If you decide to exchange it for a new one you can decide ahead of time how you want to approach this issue if it is present on the next D5 you receive as well:

1. Are you willing to test to see if this is a firmware problem? (As @Harry1973 mentions he doesn't see this for his D5 on firmware v1.4)
2. Are you willing to test if this problem goes away if you hook up a source via the I2S port? It's my understanding that not all i2S ports have the same pin configuration (the pin config for the D5 is on the product page) so you'd have to pay close attention on how to make sure your source and interconnect would work with the D5.

I'm in the same boat as @Malis : I don't use the I2S input and I don't plan to ever use it; I see no reason to. I also have no plans to sell my D5 in a couple years. I think it's a great piece of kit for the price: state of the art DAC performance, it delivers the power I need for my headphones, nice display + simple remote, has the inputs and outputs I need, etc.

 

[zmn668]

Thanks. Lots of good questions here. Given we have 3 samples with fw 1.6 that behave the same, I have no reason to think a replacement will be any different. The question then comes down to returning for a refund and what to replace it with. The Topping DX7 Pro is extremely close in specs but costs around 20% more. Now that I've experienced this level of audio I cannot go back to a Modi-Magni stack, E30-L30 stack etc. I've actually looked at what an i2S source costs and I doubt I'll ever use it either unless they come up with better solutions for the Pi versus what exists today. I'm leaning towards following the same path as you are and just acting as though I2S isn't there.

BTW.. I emailed Sabaj at the address listed on their website. Not sure if they sent it on to to the vendor since they saw I purchased on Amazon.

 

[RickSanchez]

The Topping DX7 Pro is a really nice device. You just need to be aware of the output impedance on the 1/4 headphone jack. 6.2 Ω is somewhat high, and could result in some audible issues depending on what headphones you use.

• https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-topping-dx7-pro-measurement-comparison.9636/

But the DX7 Pro has Bluetooth 5.0 support, if that feature matters to you.

 

[Harry1973]

Thanks. Lots of good questions here. Given we have 3 samples with fw 1.6 that behave the same, I have no reason to think a replacement will be any different. The question then comes down to returning for a refund and what to replace it with. The Topping DX7 Pro is extremely close in specs but costs around 20% more. Now that I've experienced this level of audio I cannot go back to a Modi-Magni stack, E30-L30 stack etc. I've actually looked at what an i2S source costs and I doubt I'll ever use it either unless they come up with better solutions for the Pi versus what exists today. I'm leaning towards following the same path as you are and just acting as though I2S isn't there.

BTW.. I emailed Sabaj at the address listed on their website. Not sure if they sent it on to to the vendor since they saw I purchased on Amazon.

It seems that 1.6. is the common factor here. I have 1.4. and no problems. I double checked.

This might be a bit of a stretch, but grounding issues came to my mind. Nothing to do with any sounds, but for long I had an issue when touching Sabaj or an amplifier or a cd player with static-cleaning cloth, sound stopped for a half a second (all components interlinked with rcas and amp was hooked up in a different power outlet than rest. Once I hooked up all my electronics to same power multi-outlet, this issue went away. Ground potential differences(?) - I am not a technical guy but just wondered if you should try to hook up everything to one multi-outlet and try (if you dont use balanced cables).

EDIT: Just now, I tried to replicate my old situation, did not hear anything strange.

 

[DACslut]

Finally got around to flashing the D5's firmware the other day to what I believe was 1.6 v2. Should the system info screen just show f/w 1.6 with no v2? Thanks.

 

[Mr. Olinad]

Finally got around to flashing the D5's firmware the other day to what I believe was 1.6 v2. Should the system info screen just show f/w 1.6 with no v2? Thanks.

Yes. There's no official 1.6.2, but as there are two versions of the 1.6 we started calling it 1.6v2.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Finally got around to flashing the D5's firmware the other day to what I believe was 1.6 v2. Should the system info screen just show f/w 1.6 with no v2? Thanks.

I believe you can check this is the right version with the volume steps: when it's 90, you have the last version.